Friends took me here during the summer to continue my sampling of the Vietnamese cuisine in Houston. I was pretty excited to come here actually, because I've never been to a Vietnamese buffet (as in, a buffet that catered nothing BUT Vietnamese food). This is one of those places that does nothing especially extraordinarily, but does everything good enough. The main section had a pretty large selection, ranging from banh xeo (Vietnamese crepes), nem nuong cuon (cured pork spring rolls), banh it ram (sticky, savory Vietnamese cakes), banh beo (shrimp-covered rice cakes), etc. (And, of course, various rice dishes and vegetables.) Definitely went back for seconds for the spring rolls and banh beo. What's also pretty cool here is that they have a station on the side that serves various noodle soups, such as bun bo hue (beef noodle soup), pho, and bun rieu (pork and tomato vermicelli noodle soup); as well as a grilling station that offers dishes such as banh bot chien (fried rice flour cake), and even mini plates of bo 7 mon (7 courses of beef)! So you can literally come here and have like ten plates of bo 7 mon. The dessert selection is also pretty large--and authentically Vietnamese! It's pretty much all different types of che (pudding-ish Vietnamese dessert) and xoi (sweet Vietnamese rice desserts). When I was here they had xoi nep than (black rice with mung bean, topped with peanuts and coconut) that was actually pretty good--came back for seconds. OVERALL: This was a long review, but overall, I think this is a wonderful place to go if you are hungry, and just want to pig out on fairly authentic Viet food. Again, nothing is done extraordinarily well, but everything is good enough that you'll come out completely satisfied as well as full. read more

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Ate with my friends and we are all full and satisfied with what we ate. There are variety of food to choose and foods are not at all greasy and you can taste the freshness. read more

We got takeout for 8 people. My favorites: *sticky burnt rice with chicken wings *duck salad *crab soup with fish maw The other dishes were okay. See my photos. read more

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This is a review for the dinner buffet only!!! We had family come into town for Christmas and of course we had to take them to Chinatown for good eats! Kim Son dinner buffet is a typical destination whenever relatives come into town. This was also my first time eating the dinner buffet. Sadly, I was unimpressed with the quality of the food. Although Kim Son puts out great dishes for huge wedding receptions, the buffet food was rather disappointing. There was a decent variety of food. However, the banh bot chien tasted like salty flour, the bun bo hue had both tender and super chewy meat (and way too much onions put in during prep-guess you have to tell them not to put so much in there), the bo 7 mon was bland and cold, and the dessert line-up was unappealing. I would have rather spent my money elsewhere :( read more

I sure envy you Houstonians. I LOVE THIS PLACE. I love buffets but around VA, they don't have a Vietnamese buffet this big with so much selections. I always go here when I am in town. There are just so many food to list here but here are a few of my favorites - Banh xeo(Yellow crepes), Large escargo/snails, baby clams, banh cuon, noodles, etc. I didn't try the sushi because they don't look that good at all. Rather save room for other goodies. Each time I came here, I wish they offer wheelchair to take me out back to my car. read more

Will not be coming back, I found a piece of broke plastic in my water when I was here for dimsum with my brother and grandmother. That ruined my entire dining experience. I regret not getting the manager or owner. When I flagged down my server, she just offered to replace my water. Great, I just ingested particles of plastic and could had choked if I hadn't poured the ice cubes into my hot tea. read more

Very busy place. Lots of variety. read more

Kim Sơn - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Decent variety of stuff but food quality was only OK. I guess it's just a buffet so I shouldn't get my hopes up too much. The made to order hot stations were pretty good though. read more

I have to start by saying I am not a fan of Buffets, but this one is awesome! I love the hot pot they will bring to your table for just one extra dollar per person. I love soup and the hot pot usually hits the right spot. The food is pretty good. I really like that you can order some dishes a la carte if you go stand in line at the furthest corner to the right of the entrance. My favorite thing at Kim son (other than the hot pot) is spring rolls! They are delicious! I am definitely a fan and I have tried so many different Vietnamese dishes I probably wouldn't have anywhere else. The buffet is only about $16 or so, but so worth it! They also serve Dim sum, you just have to ask for a menu. This is a buffet you definitely should try. read more

I hate traditional Chinese buffets but I was willing to give Kim Son a try since it was Vietnamese food. The food here was so much better than what you would find at any traditional Asian buffet. The entry way was grand and the restaurant is pretty nice and not run down. There was a good variety of food and they make items like soups and Viet omelettes to order. They also offer hot pot which you have to ask your waiter for. It does get very crowded here though so go at an off time! Overall, for a Vietnamese buffet, I was impressed! Food: 4 Value: 4 Service: 4 Overall: 4 read more

I love this place! The reviews are surprisingly low for such a great place. Came here for my first time during their lunch time buffet. For ~12 dollars a person, the variety, amount of food, and the quality of food is more than worth it. If you pay that much for a buffet, you can't really ask for the bells and whistles. My favorite part was the noodle station where they had around 10 options of different Vietnamese noodles to choose from including Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Banh Canh etc. All of the noodle bowls tasted wonderful. Their other options ranged from Vietnamese basic side dishes to home cooked meal dishes. They also had a sushi stand area. I was told that their food options change and do not stay the same so I'll definitely come back often here! Can't beat the price ! read more

I have never been to a Vietnamese buffet. My favorite aspect of this place was definitely the soup station. I tried 3 varieties and #20 was great. It had pork wontons and roasted pork with egg noodles. The broth for all 3 soups was delicious. They do not offer traditional pho though. You can try a lot of different specialty items and pay about 20$ per person. It was a fun food adventure. I think at buffets in general the food can be good but just not as amazing. read more

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This is on my top five dim sum list in Houston. I usually go to the Stafford location but this one is closer to me. We ordered around 15ish dishes for 6 people and everyone was full afterwards. The egg tart crusts weren't too flaky and the fried taro puffs a little hard but everything else was great! The best was either the shu mai (which was packed with filling) or the ha chang fun. read more

Kim Sơn - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

It's no secret that if given the choice to select a restaurant, I would rarely pick a Chinese spot. But my auntie and uncle were really excited to take us all out for Dim Sum at Kim Son. There are two sides two this gi-normous restaurant. If you want Dim Sum, head over to the left when you top the stairs. And it's HUGE! I was very pleased with the quality of Dim Sum---delicious, huge variety, and slightly larger in size than you'll find back home. Shumai, Har gauu, steamed buns, gai lan---YUM! I really enjoyed the fried crispy taro. If you're in the Houston area and are in need of a Chinese fix, I definitely suggest Kim Son! ps. Kind of cheesy but they've got a large projector screen that they show cheesy dance shows on it while everyone is eating. Random. read more

Kim Sơn - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Located on Bellaire Blvd inside a plaza with plenty of free parking. It's located on the 2nd floor of a huge banquet hall. Always packed. We got there around 12:30p on a Monday and had to wait about 10-15 min. My 4/5 rating is for the price and variety of food you can choose from. We got a huge table for the 4 of us which was appreciated because the boys ended up spilling drinks so we had to move to another side. But also with a big table we had room for dirty dishes and dishes we were working on. Drinks are extra charge by the way -- we didn't know till the end when we were paying. It's best to go on a weekday for lunch. Pricing is better. $18.25 for adults and kids 11 and over. $13.75 for 3-9 years old. Not sure whatever 9-10 years old lies loool. Even though our 2 kids (5 and 6) aren't big eaters, if we ordered a meal outside for them, $13.75 seems standard. They had fried chicken and fries ‍ and few bites of chicken noodle. They loved the snow cones. You get a taste of viet pretty much here. It's a buffet where the workers serve you so it's more sanitary but also you can't scoop up the exact piece or amount you would want. I was disappointed in the banh xeo being made and left under a heating lamp. It wasn't crunchy, surprised they didn't make a station to make it fresh. I guess it's due to cook time and there will be a long line, but not fresh. Even the banh beo was tough -- could've been left in a steamer versus heating lamp. There's a noodle station which I recommend since it's made to order. Surprised they don't have pho though. Nice selection of desserts. You can get Thai tea, so get a drink from the dessert bar if you want to save a few bucks from ordering soda. I would come back as there's definitely a lot of food I haven't tried. read more

I have tried their Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet and Dim Sum. All three are good. The side kitchen on the Buffet where you can request different soups and dishes can be better. It's not fantastic... then again, it is a Buffet. The dishes are mediocre. Their Buffet with Hot Pot is great. Buffet alone is average but Hot Pot is very yummy! Their Dim Sum is good. There are a few other places that are better than Kim Son but Kim Son is not that far behind. It is up there with the Top places to go for Dim Sum. The wait is long and it can get very crowded. For good Dim Sum- Kim Son would not be my first recommendation. For good Dim Sum, I recommend Fung's Kitchen or Golden Palace before I would recommend Kim Son. For Buffet- Dinner Buffet is alright but the Buffet with Hot Pot is great. I recommend Kim Son for Dinner Buffet with Hot Pot. read more

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Who: close family or friends When: holidays or special gatherings Where: Chinatown (Bellaire) What: lunch/dinner buffet ($18/person) Hot pot addition ($1 extra/person) Why: On holidays and when special people visit town, I always take them to Kim Son on Bellaire. The variety of buffets within the buffet (traditional soups and porridges, bun xeo, rice cake small plates, hot line/stir-fry, Vietnamese desserts, fruit/salad bar, and hot pot bar) makes this place no comparison to the Kim Son in downtown that charges $$ per plate. The place can get irritatingly packed on weekends, but I think the decent quality and shear variety makes it worth it. Just make sure you come here with an appetite. read more

Kim Sơn - Hot pot - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is my ride or die Vietnamese buffet! It's very clean, the food is very fresh, and the che is great. I love eating the banh xeo with the shrimp (that's a separate dish) since the banh xeo usually doesn't have enough shrimp and wrapping it in lettuce. The noodle station is amazing since you get to eat so many delicious Vietnamese noodle soups!! You definitely get your money's worth when you come during a weekday lunch. Weekend dinners are more expensive but come with more seafood options like mussels, crab, and crawfish. Highly recommend! read more

Dad and I stumble on this place since we were in the area on bellaire. Typically we usually go to Kim son on Jefferson st by downtown , Kim son is one of our favs we've been going for years! Walked in and noticed the Kim son on bellaire was a buffet we browsed everything looked delicious, we couldn't say no ! The food was delicious the black pepper crabs were to die for 5/5! They have worked behind the buffet serving you and they pack it on! They have a soup area where u place ur soups or wonton and I had the shrimp and pork wonton that was so good! Service was excellent ....the price may shock u but it's definitely a you get wha though pay for deal! I was happy! I will be back! read more

Only in America can you find Vietnamese AYCE Buffet! What a country! Wished they had this up in NY. Not only that, the food's pretty fresh and and MSG free. Price a little high but has generous amounts of seafood items. Nice treat for me. read more

To be accurate, I would give this place 3.5 stars if I could. It wasn't quite a 4 in terms of quality/freshness, but definitely a 4 in terms of selection and quantity. Options galore for popular Vietnamese cuisines such as banh xeo (yellow coconut/curry crepe-like dish with pork and shrimp; banh beo, banh tam, spring rolls, to name a few, as well as a wide variety of seafood-- deep fried crab, crawfish, muscles, clams! It also has your typical buffet staples like French fries, chicken nuggets, chow mien and fried rice for your more picky eaters. Don't forget to stop by their soup bar to order from an impressive list of available soups including pho, bun bo hue, Chao, wonton and more!!!! I had both the bun bo hue and bun rieu and was pleasantly surprised with flavors of the broths. Definite must try if you can't decide what to eat while in Houston's Little Saigon District. read more

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First vietnamese buffet I've ever been to in Houston. I actually love it here. We came here for lunch on tuesday and it was only $10.95 for adults. They had many choices from banh bot loc, banh xeo, pho, wonton noodles, banh canh, bun bo hue, etc, you name it all. First i was skeptical about trying a vietnamese restaurant, but this is must try when you are ever in Houston. We were very surprise when the place was packed on a tuesday. Place was pretty clean for an asian restaurant and spacious. They do split the restaurant in half as one side is for buffet and other side is for regular dim sum. read more

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great svc by this restaurant. plus go for dinner on friday for the crawfish. it's awesome since it's ayce crawfish. and dont forget to load up on the food, drinks and deserts. read more

I would give it a 5 star because they have a lot of stuff to eat and try and the waiter is really nice and the waiter is really patience.

While the food is partially better than other buffets, it's not worth the price to me. The service was not to my standard at all. I constantly had to wave down my server for refills and for the check. Even trying to get another server's attention was troublesome because they are constantly in a group talking facing away from the dining room. Overall, I wouldn't recommend being your business here. The ambiance presents wonderful potential but as of right now I would not return at all. read more

I came here for a business meeting and it was instant love at first site. Also shout out to my friend whose name is actually Kim Son. They say everything is big in Texas and boy this place did not go wrong. The portions are really huge and if you want quality Viet food. They beat out most of the Viet eateries in California and I must say it's one of the good reasons why I want to return to Houston. Why are their huge portions? This place is a buffet. I don't remember the last time I went to a Viet Buffet but I love it so much. You can have any type of Viet food you want without stress. This place can be really noisy which is a good thing because there are many tables and is really popular. As a person currently in San Jose, California this puts some places to shame in my town. Good for events too Drawback: you might have to wait read more

This is a review for their lunch buffet, from a vegan perspective. As you can imagine - not that many options. During lunch hours, you are restricted to the buffet - no menu ordering. Bummer. I am teetering between two and three stars because there WAS an explicitly labeled vegetarian dish of brown saucy tofu, vegetable sushi, and a couple of salad options. There were a couple of seemingly vegetarian dishes - lo mein, wide rice noodles, a couple of veggie dishes - but there's no telling what these dishes were simmered in/with. Most of the desserts were vegetarian, of course and there was fruit for me to nosh on and some basil seed and water chestnut concoction that was presumably vegan - but I abstained as I nearly OD-ed on the tofu dish (I like my protein, okay?). I can't say my choices were exactly tasty, but I will admit that Kim Son's textured chili sauce (unmarked in a large vat) was a little bit amazing. It was perfectly spicy and dashed with a bit of salt and other spices to compensate for the rather bland tofu dish. My dining companions ate rather heartily and I everyone was seemingly satisfied. On this particular Tuesday around 1 p.m., it was ridiculously busy. I am assuming because of Spring Break? We waited at least twenty minutes and once we were seated, I can't say the service was commendable in the least. We had to wait awhile for our used plates to be cleared, water glasses to be refilled. The kitchen staff was relatively prompt and attentive - refilling the nearly-emptied tubs with regularity. I was a little bit horrified at how rabid some of the other diners were - cutting in front of other people, pushing them aside to have first dibs on the freshly laid options. (One of the reasons I dislike buffets.) But I think my companions were all able to sample things they had interest in. I'm giving this 3 stars instead of 2 because at least their tofu wasn't curdled-tasting (like I've experienced a couple of now at the Stafford location) and while the selection wasn't crazy expansive, it was decent, but I do not believe I will try come back here. Oh yes - free buffet lunch on your birthday and there is a discount for senior citizens 55 and older. read more

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Meh, if was alright. The food was all average imo. Very vietnamese food, but nothing I really liked. Lots of people recommend this place, but in the end, it's still just a buffet. Buffet food is usually never exquisitely delicious, from my experience. read more

This review is for their Dim Sum only! I didn't think it was possible to have so-so Dim Sum in Htown. WRONG! most of the dishes here were bland and everything with Shrimp did not taste fresh. Oh and they did not have Peking duck or soy milk...wth?! Apparently I went to the wrong Kim Son restaurant, upon concensus with my Htown friends, the one I should have gone to was at The Fountains off of I-59 in Stafford. Fail. read more

Kim Sơn - Chicken feet, Har gau, BBQ bun, fried shrimp dumpling. - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

I'm still thinking about why anyone comes here? Does anybody have actual taste buds? This is has to be most bland flood I have ever tasted, chicken was over cooked, rice was bland and tasted old, crab ragoons tasted fresh out the microwave after coming out the freezer, even the noodles and meat in the soup had zero flavor. All of this for $28 a person, there's a lot of other buffets out there Feast buffet, Hibachi Grill & Buffet, etc!! All also are $20 and under a person. Only giving 2 stars because the service was the really only thing that made up for it, but she people serving give very small servings kind of thinking it's meant to intimidate you so you don't serve yourself so many plates. read more

First time here and I had a great experience. It was a Sunday brunch and the place was packed. The buffet bar had a variety of traditional Vietnamese food including a nice selection of seafood such as crabs and crawfish. They also had a small sushi bar and a soup station where you can get all your Viet soup needs. They also have a Viet desert station, how great is that? I was able to try most of the items on their buffet bar and everything tasted great. A lot of people were grabbing plates of crawfish and crabs that were excellent. I couldn't tell you how much food I ate but I almost vomited after 2 hours of binging. Anyway, I think Kim Son is the only Viet buffet in Houston. The prices were decent (17.99$) for Sunday and the service were exceptional on this date. Will for sure return next time I'm in Houston. read more

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I'm currently still sitting at Kim Son, seething. My mom had just paid the bill. We got the Saturday lunch buffet and were intending on leaving a modest cash tip, but didn't indicate it on the receipt when my mom paid with her credit card (she also absentmindedly left the tip line blank). When the waitress approached our table, my mom gestured towards the receipt and told her she could take it. The waitress paused, hovered over my mom's shoulder, and said in a cold, flat tone, "tip" indicating that she wasn't going to leave until she got paid. The thing is, she wasn't even our server - water pourer, if that's what you call 'em at buffets - she just fucking gave us our bill. My mom hates conflict and quickly grabbed a fiver out of her purse while my jaw dropped at this woman's tacky unprofessionalism. One star service. Three-star for food. Two-stars for value ($18 weekend lunch buffet). read more

Overall, you will get an assortment of traditional Vietnamese dishes in the buffet, but all of the dishes are subpar in flavor. I would go for any dishes that they prepare for you over the ones in the buffet area. In terms of value, I do feel like the price is a bit higher compared to the quality of the dishes. It is a similar experience with dim sum. I personally like the dim sum more than the buffet. The foods do lack flavor, but taste better than the dishes in the buffet. I also never had a dish that is meant to be warm or hot come out cold when eating dim sum there vs. eating at the buffet. read more

My family was there last Friday. Quality main ingredients but the seasoning need to improve. The sauces on cooked items are lacking flavors. I don't mean more salt. They need whatever that enhance the main ingredients. read more

This is by far one of the better "chinese" buffet's I've been too...most are predictable - general tso chicken, pepper steak, fried rice, lo mein. Kim Son offers more choices of foods that I actually ate growing up at home. (contrary to popular belief, we didn't eat fried rice, egg rolls, etc at home - mostly steamed rice and so-ung) Their buffet included things you rarely see at a Chinese style buffet like: gai-fon (ginger chicken rice w/slice of chicken), gai-lan (chinese vegetable), ha fun (fried rice noodles), & steamed fish with scallions. There is also a noodle stand that serves wonton noodles, etc and fried egg/potato cake...and for dessert, there was a traditional one of red sweet beans, coconut syrup, sweet sticky rice....yum. Along with these choices, there was also the typical fried rice, lo mein, general Tso chicken, hunan chicken, and even grilled chicken with vermicelli....and of course, the sushi stand. Is this better than homemade Chinese food? umm of course not but it's better than any of the buffets I've ever been dragged to! And the fact that all my family seemed to think the food was good is another reason I'd go again. And if you are Chinese or know Chinese people, then you know that they tend to be super picky esp when it comes to Chinese food. (b/c they can always make it better at home:)) If you are Chinese and your parents make traditional meals at home, then this would be of average quality but if you are not lucky enough to still live at home with your parents and must rely on your own cooking skills (which do not include gai-fon) then this is a reasonably decent substitute. read more

Back in the day, when the Vietnamese community was first forming in Houston, Kim Son - the original one downtown (that has since closed shop) was the gold standard of Vietnamese fine dining. With scarce ingredients (as trade between Vietnam and the US was embargoed at the time) Kim Son was the go to place for formal gatherings such as weddings within the community. Today, Kim Son has opened many franchises throughout the city and still hosts events such as weddings but with the growth boom of the Vietnamese community in the ensuing 30 years or so, Kim Son has too much competition to still be considered the best Vietnamese restaurant in town. While I will say that their wedding menu is still pretty damn good, their buffet offerings are kind of mediocre. However, Kim Son is one of the Vietnamese buffet places that I've seen actually work as a business model. There is great variety here and it's all actually rather impressive if you think about it. But no one dish is executed extremely well. If you want to enjoy Kim Son, be sure to order off their menu rather than go for the buffet - unless of course you are just in the mood for variety and don't care for substance. read more

Just got the bill $100 worth of crap! Most expensive worst dim sum ever! Never coming back to this restaurant ever!!! Fungs still tops our list of dim sum in Houston! read more

Kim Sơn - Leftovers not worth taking home - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is a very interesting place. It looks like a mall food court on the inside. I will have to come back again for the dim sum weekend option. I thought the buffet options were okay. A lot of pork options. The dessert was pretty authentic. They have a pho station as well that had an interesting broth taste. There was sushi as well. There was a lot of seating g available and it was packed! Overall it was meh, I don't think I'll come back for the lunch buffet. Service was pretty prompt in take the plates away and giving us our check. Huge parking lot. The restaurant was on the 2nd floor. They have a banquet hall as well where one of my close friends had his wedding. read more

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This review is on the Vietnamese Buffet only. I'm typically not a fan of buffets. However, Kim Son does a fair job covering a good chunk of the Vietnamese cuisine from the Northern, Central, and Southern regions of VN. I am a big fan of the Vietnamese savory banhs. Kim Son covers a good amount: Banh Bot Loc, Ban Nam, Ban Beo, Banh Cong, Banh Tam, Banh duc, and several others. They also have a hot food station that serves: Bun Rieu, Bun Bo Hue, Bun Moc, Mi Wonton, Bo 7 Mon, Cha Oc, etc. Interestingly enough they also mix in some Chinese and Sushi. I personally would avoid these items as they are not up to par. Plus I would only come here to get my Vietnamese fix on. They also do an okay job covering the Vietnamese desserts, banh, che, fruits. Overall, a pleasant time. read more

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And it continues to slide down hill. The soup section that I always looked forward to is now a not so desirable mess. not one to waste food, but this is not what I expect for 18$. read more